Social Media Marketing
Social Media – What Is It?
“Social Media” has become the latest buzzword in online marketing recently, to the point that businesses everywhere seem to be rushing to cash in on the potential it offers.
But what exactly IS social media, and HOW can it benefit YOUR business?
Many definitions exist for social media, but the basic idea from a business perspective can best be summarized by comparing it to the more traditional media.
- Traditional Media: One-way communication between an advertiser or content provider and the intended audience. Examples: print, television, and radio advertising and programming
- Social Media: A multi-faceted, multi-directional conversation between prospects, customers, and business owners. Examples: video sharing sites like YouTube and Viddler; micro-blogging platforms like Twitter; social connection sites like Facebook and MySpace; interactive media encouraging commentary and conversation such as blogs
Using social media in business embraces the idea that your customers and prospects, for good or ill, are already going to be talking about you. You can either put your head in the sand and ignore this fact, or you can join in and help to shape the conversation that is already going on.
In the process of doing so, IF you go about it the right way, you can connect more deeply with your existing customers, AND engage your future customers more meaningfully than has ever been possible before.
Radial Web Media can help you to form a strategy for using the top social media channels to:
- Define your online brand
- Build targeted lists of qualified prospects
- Engage in the public conversation about your business
- Craft value-added messages that will attract customers rather than drive them away
- Do all of the above using Video, and social interaction sites like Twitter and Facebook